Window-operating apparatus

ABSTRACT

A push-pull actuator device for opening and closing windows and the like. The actuator device consists of a housing having a winding drum rotatably mounted therein and a flexible extensible member mounted on the winding drum. The flexible extensible member is in the form of a tightly coiled spring which may be stored within the housing by winding it on to the winding drum or it may extend from the housing in a straight line to open a window and hold the window in the open position.

[ Feb. 1,1972

United States Patent Mason [54] WINDOW-OPERATING APPARATUS 2,832,5904/1958 Youngberg..............................49/325 PrimaryExaminer-Kenneth Downey Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh & Co.

[22] Filed:

ABSTRACT A push-pull actuator device for opening and closing windows andthe like. The actuator device consists of a housing having 68 a windingdrum rotatably mounted therein and a flexible ex- 74/89 tensible membermounted on the winding drum. The flexible 1 19 extensible member is inthe form of a tightly coiled spring which may be stored within thehousing by winding it on to the [51] Int. Cl. [58] Field oi winding drumor it may extend from the housing in a straight [56] References cuedline to open a window and hold the window in the open posi- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Hanson et al. .......................49/325 X 10 (Ilaims,3 Drawing Figures PATENTED rm H972 I 3638.358

NVli/V/ 1R GORDON A MASON ATTORNEYS FIG1 WINDOW-OPERATING APPARATUSFIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a push-pull actuatordevice. In particular, this invention relates to a simple andinexpensive pushpull device which is suitable for opening windows whichare pivotally mounted for rotation about either a horizontal or avertical axis, or slidably mounted to open horizontally or vertically.

PRIOR ART Manually operable devices for opening and closing pivotallymounted windows are well known. Most of these devices, however, employ acomplicated system of pivotally connected levers to achieve the desiredopening and closing. The cost of manufacturing and installing the knownpivotally mounted lever deices is quite substantial. In addition, it hasbeen found that considerable wear occurs in the area of the pivot pinswhich connect the levers of the known devices with the result that theyvery frequently become jammed or sufiiciently loose to permit theassemblies to vibrate.

SUMMARY The present invention provides a simple and inexpensive devicefor opening windows or the like without the use of pivotally connectedlever arms.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a device foropening and closing a window or the like comprises a housing adapted tobe mounted on a window jamb or the like and a semirigid actuator membermounted in said housing and adapted to be moved into and out of saidhousing to open and close the window, as required in use. The semirigidactuator member is substantially rigid under tension and compressionwhile also being adapted to be coiled upon itself for storing. The innerend of the actuator member is movably mounted within the housing and theouter end of the actuator member is adapted to be secured to a windowframe. The actuator member is movable in the housing between a withdrawnposition wherein a major portion of the actuator member is storablycoiled within the housing and an extending position wherein a majorportion of the actuator member extends outwardly from the housing. Thedevice also includes drive means for driving the actuator member betweenthe extended and the withdrawn positions.

A further feature of the device, according to the present invention, isthe provision of an annular passage formed within the housing to receivethe actuator member in a free-sliding relationship while restraining theactuator member against uncontrolled flexing.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will be more clearly understood afterreference to the following detailed specification read in conjunctionwith the drawings, wherein,

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a window-opening device according to thepresent invention installed in a typical installation;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a device according to an embodiment ofthis invention; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an assembled device taken along the line3-3 of FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that thedevice of the present invention, which is generally indicated by thereference numeral 10, includes a housing 12 which is mounted on thelower jamb 14 of a window frame. The window 16 is pivotally mounted tothe upper jamb 14. An actuator member 18 extends outwardly from thehousing 12 to be connected at its outer end to a bracket 20 mounted onthe sash 22 of a window. By turning the crank arm 24, the actuatormember 18 is wound into and out of the housing 14 to open or close thewindow, as required in use. It will be understood that, while in FIG. 1of the drawings the actuator device is mounted to pivotally move awindow which is pivoted in a horizontal plane, the device is equallyapplicable for use in opening and closing a window which is pivoted in avertical plane.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the housingincludes a main body portion 26 which is fonned with a circular chamber28 which has an annular sidewall 30. An opening 32 is formed in thesidewall 30 to provide access to the central chamber. The main body 26has mounting flanges 27 which are adapted to be secured to the jamb 14by mounting screws 29. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing has acentrally located boss 34 extending upwardly from the plane of thebottom wall of the chamber 28. The upper end of the boss 34 is threaded.A winding drum 36 is mounted for rotation on the boss 34. The windingdrum 36 has an annular winding surface 38 arranged in a spaced parallelrelationship with respect to the annular wall 30 of the chamber 28 so asto define a passageway therebetween. Bevelled gear teeth 40 are formedon the upper surface of the winding drum 36. The top cover for thehousing consists of a backplate 42 and a front plate 44. The backplate42 has a projection 46 extending upwardly therefrom. A shaft 48 isrotatably mounted in the top plate and extends through the projection46. A gearwheel 50 is secured to the lower end of the shaft in aposition to drivingly engage the gear teeth 40 of the drum 36. A crankhandle 52 is mounted on the outer end of the shaft 48. The backplate 42has a lip portion 54 extending outwardly at the front edge thereof toprovide a recess of a depth substantially equal to the thickness of thefront top plate 44. The front top plate 44 has a sidewall 56 whichprojects downwardly therefrom. A shoulder 58 is formed adjacent theouter end of the front cover 44 to abut the outer end of the lower coverplate 42, as shown in FIG. 3. The covers 42 and 44 are secured to thehousing 26 by a countersunk screw 60 which extends through the openings62 and 64 to threadably engage the threaded boss 34. A locking device inthe form of a locking plate 66 mounted in a recess 68 formed in thehousing 26 is actuated by a thumbscrew 70 which has a threaded stud 72at the lower end thereof passing through the plate 66 and threadablymounted within the opening 74 of the housing. The thumbscrew 70 has acollar 76 at its upper end and a spring washer 78 mounted between thecollar 76 and the locking plate 66. The collar 76 is adapted to rotatefreely within the opening 80 formed in the top cover 42.

The actuator member 18 consists of a closely wound coil spring 82 whichhas an end cap 84 secured at its outer end and an end cap 86 secured atits inner end. The end cap 86 is secured to the winding drum 36. A wire88 is secured at its outer end to the end cap 84 and extendslongitudinally through the spring 82 and end cap 86 to extend inwardlyof the winding drum 36 through the opening 90 to be secured by aclamping screw 92. The spring member 82 is sufficiently flexible to windaround the winding drum 36 and it is proportioned to fit in afree-fitting sliding relationship within the passageway 38 formedbetween the winding drum and the annular wall of the cavity. The springmember 82 extends outwardly from the housing through the opening 32 andit is sufficiently rigid to extend outwardly from the housing in asubstantially straight line while being sufficiently flexible to movewith the window in use. A mounting pin 94 is pivotally secured to theend cap 84 and it is adapted to fit within the bracket 96, which ismounted on the sash of the window. The bracket 96 has an opening formedtherein to receive the pin 94 and a pivotally mounted releasable lockinglug 98 serves to releasably secure the pin 94 to the bracket 96.

In use, when the window is closed, the major portion of the actuatormember is located within the housing. To open the window, crank handle52 is rotated. This, in turn, rotates the gear 50 and winding drum 36.As the winding drum 36 rotates, the actuator member 18 is movedoutwardly from the housing to push the window to the open position. Therigidity of the actuator member is sufficient to ensure that the windowmay be pushed to an open position without any substantial flexing of theactuator member. It will be noted, however, that in the opening of thewindow the lower edge of the window moves in an arc such that a rigidbar connected to the window would not be capable of moving the windowbeyond a very limited arcuate movement. With the spring actuator deviceof the present invention, it is possible to effect a very substantialopening of the window by reason of the fact that the spring issufficiently flexible to accommodate the displacement of the connectionwith the window from the plane of the housing. When the window is openedto the extent required, the thumbscrew 70 is rotated to cause theclamping plate 66 to bear down upon the coil spring 82. The coils of thespring 82 which are under the clamping plate 66 are compressed while theadjacent coils will remain uncompressed such that the uncompressed coilswill form shoulders bearing against the side edges of the clamping plate66 to further lock the spring in the preset position. It will also benoted that, even if the clamping screw is not applied, the gearreduction of the drive mechanism is such that the winding drum will notbe readily wound under the influence of pressure supplied to theactuator device. Furthermore, by restraining the movement of the springwithin the annular passage formed in the housing, it is not possible toeffect a movement of the actuator device by flexing the spring withinthe housing.

When it is necessary to close the window, the crank handle is againrotated and the winding drum winds the actuator member 18 into thehousing. When the window approaches the closed position, the spring 82will become very slightly extended so as to be under a slight tension.This tension serves to retain the window in a closed position. Theamount of tension which can be applied to the spring is limited by thesubstantially inextensible wire 88. The wire 88 ensures that it is notpossible to lever the window open by stretching the spring 82.

When the window is in the closed position, the locking device is againapplied to lock the window in a closed position. Again, it will be notedthat the locking device bears down against the spring.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a simple and inexpensive device for opening and closingpivotally mounted windows. The housing and winding drum of this devicemay very readily be manufactured from molded plastic material or theconventional bronze metals used in the manufacture of window hardware.

Various modifications of this invention are possible without departingfrom the scope of the invention. For example, it would be possible tosubstitute a stem device of the type which is normally stored in acoiled flat stock configuration and which extends in a tubularconfiguration. While this substitution is possible, there aresubstantial advantages in cost and simplicity in the spring and coilerdevice of the present invention.

In a further modification, it may be possible to drive the springrelative to the housing by engaging the spiral recesses of the springwith a tangentially extending screw device to utilize the turns of thespring in the same manner as a screw thread.

It will also be readily apparent that this device may be used to movesliding windows relative to one another by screwing the housing to awindow frame and securing the free end of the actuation member to thesliding window. in this arrangement, the actuator member will extendparallel to the plane of movement of the window.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A push-pull actuator device for moving one member of a pair ofmembers relative to another comprising:

a. a housing adapted to be mounted on one of said members,

b. drive means mounted in said housing,

c. semirigid actuator means mounted for movement relative to saidhousing and consisting of a substantially inextensible cable member anda coil spring member, said coil spring member having a hollow interiorpassage extending longitudinally therethrough, said cable extendingthrough said interior passage, the outer end of said cable being securedrelative to the outer end of said coil spring and the inner end of saidcable being connected to said drive means whereby said spring means maybe driven inwardly relative to said housing by said cable in response tomovement of said drive means, said drive means engaging said springmeans such that the spring may be driven outwardly from said housing bysaid drive means to assume a substantially straight configurationprojecting outwardly from said housing,

. the outer end of said actuator means being securable to the other ofsaid members to move said other member toand-fro relative to saidfirst-mentioned member.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said drive means includes;

a. a winding drum mounted for rotation in said housing, the inner end ofsaid cable member being secured to said winding drum, the inner end ofsaid coil spring engaging said drum, and

b. crank means drivingly engaging said winding drum to move saidactuator means relative to said housing.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said drive means includes:

a. a winding drum mounted for rotation in said housing, the inner end ofsaid cable being secured to said winding drum, said winding drum havinggear teeth formed thereon,

b. crank means having complementary gear teeth formed thereon engageablewith said teeth of said winding drum, said crank means being manuallyengageable to rotate said winding drum to move said actuator memberbetween said extended and withdrawn positions.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, including locking means for lockingsaid actuator member relative to said housing in any position betweensaid extended position and said withdrawn position.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main housing is formedwith an annular passage adapted to receive said actuator means in afree-sliding relationship and to restrain said actuator member againstuncontrolled flexing.

6. A device for moving a pivotably mounted window or the like to-and-frobetween an open and a closed position, comprising:

a. a housing adapted to be mounted on a window jamb or the like,

b. said housing having a substantially circular chamber formed therein,

c. an opening formed in the annular wall of said chamber,

d. a winding drum mounted for rotation within said chamber and having anouter winding surface in spaced parallel relationship to said annularwall of said chamber to define an annular actuator receiving passagetherebetween,

e. a semirigid actuator member which is substantially rigid undertension and compression while also being adapted to be coiled uponitself for storing,

. said actuator member being adapted to fit within saidactuator-receving passage in a close-fitting sliding relationship so asto slide freely therein while being restrained by the annular walls ofsaid passage against uncontrolled flexing,

g. said semirigid actuator member consisting of a substantiallyinextensible cable member and a tightly coiled flexible spring member,said coil spring member having a hollow interior passage extendingtherethrough, said cable extending through said interior passage, theouter end of said cable being secured relative to the outer end of saidcoil spring and the inner end of said cable being secured relative tosaid drum whereby said actuator means may be drawn inwardly relative tosaid housing by said cable in response to movement of said drum,

h. said drum means engaging the inner end of said spring means to drivesaid spring means outwardly from said to said end cap.

8. A device as claimed in claim I, wherein said housing is formed from amolded plastic material.

9. A device as claimed in claim 6 wherein said main housing end and saidwinding drum are formed from plastic material.

10. A device as claimed in claim 6 including locking means for lockingsaid actuator in any position between said extended position and saidwithdrawn position.

1. A push-pull actuator device for moving one member of a pair ofmembers relative to another comprising: a. a housing adapted to bemounted on one of said members, b. drive means mounted in said housing,c. semirigid actuator means mounted for movement relative to saidhousing and consisting of a substantially inextensible cable member anda coil spring member, said coil spring member having a hollow interiorpassage extending longitudinally therethrough, said cable extendingthrough said interior passage, the outer end of said cable being securedrelative to the outer end of said coil spring and the inner end of saidcable being connected to said drive means whereby said spring means maybe driven inwardly relative to said housing by said cable in response tomovement of said drive means, said drive means engaging said springmeans such that the spring may be driven outwardly from said housing bysaid drive means to assume a substantially straight configurationprojecting outwardly from said housing, d. the outer end of saidactuator means being securable to the other of said members to move saidother member to-and-fro relative to said first-mentioned member.
 2. Adevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said drive means includes: a. awinding drum mounted for rotation in said housing, the inner end of saidcable member being secured to said winding drum, the inner end of saidcoil spring engaging said drum, and b. crank means drivingly engagingsaid winding drum to move said actuator means relative to said housing.3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said drive means includes: a.a winding drum mounted for rotation in said housing, the inner end ofsaid cable being secured to said winding drum, said winding drum havinggear teeth formed thereon, b. crank means having complementary gearteeth formed thereon engageable with said teeth of said winding drum,said crank means being manually engageable to rotate said winding drumto move said actuator member between said extended and withdrawnpositions.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 1, including locking meansfor locking said actuator member relative to said housing in anyposition between said extended position and said withdrawn position. 5.A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main housing is formed withan annular passage adapted to receive said actuator means in afree-sliding relationship and to restrain said actuator member againstuncontrolled flexing.
 6. A device for moving a pivotably mounted windowor the like to-and-fro between an open and a closed position,comprising: a. a housing adapted to be mounted on a window jamb or thelike, b. said housing having a substantially circular chamber formedtherein, c. an opening formed in the annular wall of said chamber, d. awinding drum mounted for rotation within said chamber and having anouter winding surface in spaced parallel relationship to said annularwall of said chamber to define an annular actuator receiving passagetherebetween, e. a semirigid actuator member which is substantiallyrigid under tension and compression while also being adapted to becoiled upon itself for storing, f. said actuator member being adapted tofit within said actuator-receving passage in a close-fitting slidingrelationship so as to slide freely therein while being restrained by theannular walls of said passage against uncontrolled flexing, g. saidsemirigid actuator member consisting of a substantially inExtensiblecable member and a tightly coiled flexible spring member, said coilspring member having a hollow interior passage extending therethrough,said cable extending through said interior passage, the outer end ofsaid cable being secured relative to the outer end of said coil springand the inner end of said cable being secured relative to said drumwhereby said actuator means may be drawn inwardly relative to saidhousing by said cable in response to movement of said drum, h. said drummeans engaging the inner end of said spring means to drive said springmeans outwardly from said passage through said opening in asubstantially straight line in response to movement of said drum, i.drive means for rotatably driving said winding drum to move saidactuator means between said extended and withdrawn positions, j. saidouter end of said actuator member being adapted to be secured to awindow sash in use.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein saidactuator member also includes an end cap mounted at the outer end ofsaid coiled spring, said cable being connected at its outer end to saidend cap.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing isformed from a molded plastic material.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 6wherein said main housing end and said winding drum are formed fromplastic material.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 6 including lockingmeans for locking said actuator in any position between said extendedposition and said withdrawn position.